Philadelphia Water Department, Sewer Maintenance Facility, Sustainable Building Practices

Burns served as the primary engineering consultant on a state-of-the-art training and operations center. Designed to LEED Platinum standards, the West Philadelphia facility features high-efficiency building systems and advanced green stormwater infrastructure.

Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) constructed the $17-million West Philadelphia Sewer Maintenance Facility in 2019, providing a hands-on training and operations hub for the sewer infrastructure workforce who maintain the city’s 3,700-mile wastewater system. The 10,000-square-foot facility contains administrative and training space for PWD’s sewer inspection and maintenance workers as well as storage and refueling stations for maintenance vehicle fleets.

PWD prioritized design features that minimize the facility’s impact on surrounding waterways, improve energy efficiency, and lower operating costs. Key aspects of the project’s engineering design:

• Building energy models evaluated sustainability benefits of the facility’s architectural designs and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (M/E/P) systems.
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems feature a closed-loop, vertical geoexchange system. High-efficiency horizontal concealed water-source heat pumps service the facility’s administration building. In-slab radiant floor heating and air-side energy recovery ventilation systems service the garage.
• Efficiency measures include Energy Star appliances, LED lighting fixtures with daylight sensors, and ultra-low flow plumbing fixtures. Indoor air ventilation systems feature an enthalpy wheel to support air-side energy recovery.
• Green stormwater infrastructure include a large bioretention basin, green roof, vegetated swale, and pervious pavement throughout the parking lot.

Burns served as engineer of record for M/E/P, structural, civil engineering, security, and fire protection designs. Construction completed in 2019.